Division over length of truce
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, who was scheduled to travel to Israel on Thursday, said the administration wanted the truce to continue because it “means that more hostages will be coming home, more assistance will be getting in”.
However, Itamar Ben Gvir, the hard-Right security minister and a key partner in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition, threatened to bring down the government if the war in Gaza ends.
“Stopping the war equals breaking apart the government,” he said in a statement. Mr Ben Gvir’s departure would leave Mr Netanyahu with a very slim majority to keep his hold on power.
It came as Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, said reports of sexual violence during the Hamas rampage must be investigated, as he warned of an “epic humanitarian disaster” in Gaza.
Mr Guterres said there were numerous accounts of sexual violence during the “abhorrent acts of terror by Hamas on October 7” which saw thousands injured, more than 1,200 people killed and about 240 people abducted.
Speaking of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza, Mr Guterres said that all of them “must be released immediately and unconditionally”.
“Until then,” he added, “they must be treated humanely and (humanitarian organisation) the ICRC must be allowed to visit them.”
There were further tensions in the West Bank on Wednesday, as the IDF said it fired on armed terrorists in a refugee camp in Jenin, killing two men.
Israel’s military also reported it had killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in the West Bank as violence continues to soar in the occupied territory amid the war in Gaza.
Muhammad Zubeidi was “eliminated” by IDF fighters in the Jenin refugee camp, the IDF said. He was accused of several shooting attacks in the area.
Meanwhile, an 85-year-old hostage released by Hamas in October said she told Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief, that he should be “ashamed of himself” when they met.
Yocheved Lifshitz, a lifelong peace activist, said Sinwar visited her three or four days into captivity.
She told Hebrew-language newspaper Davar: “I asked him how he is not ashamed to do such a thing to people who have supported peace all these years.
“He didn’t answer. He was silent.”
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
